


Less Than Promising Beginnings

by pipisafoat



Series: Stark Hospital for Independent Emotional Life Determination [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hospital, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Psychiatric Hospital, Deaf Character, Deaf Clint Barton, Gen, Psychologists & Psychiatrists
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-24
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-08-16 23:36:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8122009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pipisafoat/pseuds/pipisafoat
Summary: Clint meets a new patient at SHIELD.





	

**S.H.I.E.L.D., A Wing Activity Area  
9/17/16, 8:15 am**

Clint flinched as a pair of fingers snapped in front of his face. His therapist Sam, the nurse Phil, and the three other patients all knew how much he hated that. He turned slowly to see a man speaking to him while gesticulating energetically; he recognized the face from the news programs as well as pictures throughout the hospital. Tony Stark, son of the man the entire hospital was named for, still the largest single donor the hospital has ever seen. The staff had told Clint during his intake that they only allowed patients and staff on the unit, but he wasn’t surprised to see that the Stark of Stark Hospital was the exception to the rule. Clint glanced over to the nursing desk, trying to catch Phil’s eye to escape the situation, but Dr. Fury’s unrelenting eyepatch met his gaze instead. Clint sighed and pulled his hearing aids out of his pocket.

“Oh my God,” Stark was saying as Clint turned the aids on. He’s so fucking tired of people apologizing for not knowing about his deafness-

“Those are incredibly ugly. I could make a much better set of hearing aids if I had access to my lab from here."

Clint blinked. “Uh. Yeah, I guess you could."

Stark scoffed and rolled his eyes as he dropped into the chair right beside Clint. “I’m a mechanical genius, man. There’s no guessing. I definitely could. I’m Tony Stark, which I’m assuming you already knew. Who are you and why are you in here?"

He sighed again and seriously considered taking his hearing aids back out. “Clint."

“And why are you in here? I’m in because of what happened to me; I’m sure you saw it on TV. The news channels have all been talking about my brilliance and how I survived such a harrowing experience purely on genius. What did you think of my press conference?"

“You mean you’re here as a patient?"

“Duh. They don’t let visitors back here, not even me. Well, if you won’t tell me what you’re in for, I’m going to go find someone else to talk to. Later, Clint.” Stark didn’t even bother to push in the chair as he walked off without a backwards glance.

Clint slowly reached up to turn off and remove his hearing aids. He shook his head as he slid them back into his pocket. Stark, so full of himself and with no idea that other people didn’t want to share their issues, taking up the same space Clint had come to to try to get better? There was no way it could end well.


End file.
